[mcA896]

who does nighttime road rides? i wanna try one, maybe tomorrow after work. there are some great backroads around here. also, does anyone have any secrets for mounting road bike tires? my new ones eem about 1.4" too small for the rim, and its been a b!tch tryin to get them on.

 

[ito]

Our school's club is setting up a midnight crit tomorrow. Should be a fair amount of fun. I usually go out on my fixed gear and do some sprint training at night. No traffic and you get all green lights. Throw on an mp3 player and a sweatshirt you can get a good workout in about half an hour. I haven't gone on anything out of the nearby neighborhood, just cause I don't have lights and it is about 10 miles to get anywhere.

As for the tires, soapy water or oil, but I find plastic coated metal tire levers work the best.

The Ito

 

[chriskaiser]

Night rides are great, I ride a lot at night. After work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays there are road rides.

A group of riders meet up outside at about 8-8 30 so it's still light, but as the ride goes on, the sun sets.

Curising along the empty streets at 40+ is great, not many cars, and the darkness seems to make the ride feel faster. I love it.

I never use tire lever when putting tires on, even conties.

I pre fill the tube a bit and put it in the tire and then the tire on the rim.

Put it on, and once it gets tight , too tight to pry on with my thumbs I let a bit of air out of the tube, go around the tire and make sure that is is all

seated right and that gives me enough slack to get the last bit on.

For the last few inches left remaing over the rim use your thumbs and only pry a tiny amount of the tire over the rim at a time, that will add up and the

tire should pop over the rim.

I guess the last resort would be to use some levers, but be careful not to pinch the tube.

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

I used to do alot of night rides, but have had way too many close calls with drunks and assholes in general. I try to wrap my rides up before it gets too dark even though I have plenty of lights. The only time I ride nights is to go to the store or run an errand. The only time I'll do a night ride is if I'm not alone.
Such is life in the "big city".
Are you starting the tire where the valve is? If you're not, then that is likely the problem. I know some rims (Sun especially) are hard to work tires onto.

 

[LordOpie]

I love night riding, it's a whole 'nother world out there. I'm lucky that I can ride the reservoir when it's close to cars. Still have to watch out for those deers... they're a lot bigger and tougher than one might think.